Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Time to Buy?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s share price traded up 1.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $226.55 and last traded at $225.52. 10,980,298 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 58,944,750 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.72.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AAPL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Apple from $300.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Apple from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Apple currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.51.

Apple Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day moving average of $226.82 and a 200-day moving average of $214.03.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The iPhone maker reported $1.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.60 by $0.04. Apple had a net margin of 23.97% and a return on equity of 152.94%. The firm had revenue of $94.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Apple Inc. will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Apple Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 11th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Apple’s payout ratio is 16.45%.

Insider Transactions at Apple

In other Apple news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at $24,416,137.76. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Luca Maestri sold 59,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.52, for a total value of $13,433,768.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,416,137.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Kondo sold 8,706 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $1,958,850.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,419 shares in the company, valued at $3,469,275. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 412,746 shares of company stock worth $93,021,362. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Francis Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Apple by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Francis Financial Inc. now owns 15,902 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $2,727,000 after purchasing an additional 975 shares during the last quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Apple by 1.0% in the first quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 155,643 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $26,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Omega Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Apple by 3.1% during the first quarter. Omega Financial Group LLC now owns 7,741 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its position in Apple by 3.3% in the first quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 98,274 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock valued at $16,852,000 after buying an additional 3,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Apple by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 263,707 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $45,220,000 after buying an additional 11,730 shares during the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Apple

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.